Guide My Nightmares
by MewLuna
Summary: Toph sees darkness each day, every day, her whole life. But at night she sees everything in her dreams. But what if the dreams turn to nightmares? Can Zuko help her? One-shot Toko.


**Guide My Nightmares: By Luna Mrow**

**Summary: **Toph sees darkness each day, every day, her whole life. But at night she sees everything in her dreams. But what if the dreams turn to nightmares? Can Zuko help her? One-shot Toko.

**Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA or its characters. I wish I owned Momo. **

**Author's Note: **Takes place after the war. Mai and Zuko are not together. Please enjoy!

**~X~X~X~**

Everyone thought that Toph Bei Fong couldn't see. They were right. She couldn't. She couldn't see the trees, the grass, colors, or human beings for that matter. She couldn't see faces, eyes, mouths, anything that most consider important to look at. But then something almost magical happened to Toph for the first time in her life. It was the night after the celebration of the end of the war.

She _dreamed_. And for once she could see with her eyes closed. Toph would never admit this, but she was scared at first. Or perhaps startled is a better word. Can you blame her? The first thing she dreamed of was the garden inside her large Bei Fong home that she swore she'd never return to. Toph could see how the trees were tall with branches reaching out and supplying shade. How every individual flower growing from the monstrous grass field had their own unique design.

And when she woke up the beautiful garden disappeared. The familiar darkness had returned. Her eyes were open but nothing was seen. Same old, same old.

Only Katara and Suki noticed the twelve year old girl's odd behavior during breakfast that following morning. Sokka didn't notice he was too busy telling a story about his amazing fishing skills in the South Pole, and Aang didn't notice because he was the one Sokka was telling the story to.

Instead of busting through the door and demanding to know what was for breakfast, Toph carefully walked into the kitchen and sat down in the chair farthest from everyone. Suki counted a full three minutes until Toph asked (in a somewhat polite tone of voice), "There anything to eat?"

Toph wasn't polite. Bottom line, end of story. _Something is distracting her, _Katara thought.

"Hey, am I talking to air here? I said, is there anything to eat?" the girl snapped.

_Maybe not, _Katara said to herself as an afterthought. The water bender still kept a wary eye on her petite friend.

**~X~X~X~**

Being Firelord wasn't easy. Zuko never thought the job would be, being the pessimist he was he always thought everything in life was hard. If it was easy, it wasn't done right, or there was a catch. However his thoughts were unusually bitter because of Mai. She left him. Gone. It had only been eight months after his coronation and she said they didn't work out, they weren't meant to be. She left the day after.

That was a year ago. Three-hundred and sixty-five days had passed and a lot had changed. Suki and Sokka got married. Aang and Katara went to the Southern Water Tribe but promised to be back soon (which was two months ago). Toph remained in the Fire Nation but always left without a word, and even though she'd be gone no more than five days or a week, she never announced when she'd leave or when she'd come back. She never said goodbye. Fortunately Zuko still had his Uncle. That was something he thanked Spirits for everyday.

It was summer and the nighttime fireflies danced around the palace gardens. The time was probably 11:30 late at night. Zuko knew he should go to bed, he had a meeting in the morning, but the silence was amazing. But for once no one was bothering him. He could do what he wanted. An idea struck the seventeen year old young man and he stood up from his sitting spot, walking barefoot onto the grass.

The one thing he never had time to do and should do was practice fire bending. You always had to practice if you wanted to stay good at something. He's been out practice for a month. It showed to, the bright orange flames he shot out into the air weren't as powerful and raging, and his jumps and flips had gotten weak.

When it had turned precisely midnight Zuko heard a loud and terrified _scream_! This immediately made him send out a flame from surprise and automatic guard instinct. The scream was loud enough to wake the whole palace. It was also somewhat... familiar to him? "Toph?" he asked himself. "Damn it!"

He took off running towards her room at full speed! Had she come back from wherever she went? If she'd _tell _him where she goes and when she'd come back he wouldn't be so clueless! Zuko wasted no time with knocking, with a swift knee to the wood the lock on the door broke open and he rushed into the room.

Toph was on her bed, her long locks of black hair sprawled out underneath her, the red satiny fire nation sheets beneath her. She was breathing heavily, sweat was coming down her forehead, and a look of absolute agony was across her features.

Zuko couldn't believe it; was Toph scared?

**~X~X~X~**

They started out fine. After her first encounter with the subliminal Toph had slowly become more open to her dreams. She didn't have them every night, she was lucky if she had them twice a month. Each dream was better than the last.

Her favorite one was when she was in the clouds. She could see the sun, the bright orange glow, accompanied by the effervescent white clouds and light pastel blue skies. Toph was only dreaming places however; she had yet to see a human face. But she was hopeful it would come, she was hopeful that one day she'd dream of Katara, or Suki, Sokka maybe, Iroh, Aang, Appa… when she thought of Zuko she felt her face grow hot with blush. She wouldn't think about Zuko.

One night she actually had a dream of Momo. The lemur flew around and attacked a family of turtle-ducks with acorns. Toph couldn't wait until she saw Momo again (even though she wouldn't admit it).

But all the fun had to end. The dreams took a dark turn. They were so real, so convincing, Toph would forget she was dreaming. Devastation of forests was being burned down, dead bodies with no faces lying down in their own pools of blood. Fire cackling all around, as if it were laughing. The flames felt so hot, so real.

They say that the sight of death is surreal, that it can stain a soul. She witnessed these people dying, she witnessed their bodies stop moving and goes limp, the shred of light in their bodies being cut. It was horrible. It was unimaginable. It wasn't real… but it sure as hell looked to be.

Toph soon realized these weren't dreams; these were nightmares.

Gradually they got worse and worse, just like the dreams had gotten better and better. They didn't happen every night, they happened roughly once every two weeks. But every time they happened it was horrible.

She was running. Faster and faster, and even though she tried to bend the earth would not yield to her commands. Water was chasing her. A tidal wave of unforgiving ocean was coming her way and all she could do was run. She screamed out in frustration and desperation as the ocean consumed her small body. Her screams were muffled by the water.

**~X~X~X~**

It took Zuko only a second to figure out she was having a nightmare. He ran to beside her bed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Toph! Wake up! Wake up!" he yelled.

"No!" she screamed once again. Her body shook and her arms waved wildly.

This was worse than Zuko thought. With his bigger hands he pinned her down her arms, his knees now on the bed as he hunched over her. "Toph!" And suddenly her eyes flew open and she was awake, breathing heavily. "Spirits you scared me!" he yelled one hand releasing one of her arms and cupping her chin so she could look at him.

"Sparky?" she asked. "Mind telling me what the hell is going on?"

"You tell me!" he shouted. "You just started screaming! Were you having a nightmare?"

Her pride got in the way. "Of course not!" she yelled. Toph then realized Zuko was pinning her. "Get off of me!"

He jumped back and stood on his feet, glowering down at the girl. "You'll tell me what's wrong." It wasn't a statement, it was a command.

"Nothing is wrong," she growled, standing from the bed herself. She crossed her arms stubbornly. "Are you going to leave and let me get back to sleep, Princess?"

He knew she was lying. Something was bothering her and he hated that she never told him anything. "This isn't over," was the last thing he said before slamming her bedroom door shut.

**~X~X~X~**

She could feel him watching her with his amber golden eyes during breakfast. They were silently challenging her, probing her to say something about last night.

He repeatedly scolded himself for yelling at her last night. Yes, Toph was difficult, but Zuko also knew he should've have gotten angry. He wasn't really angry, he was more scared and concerned. The girl he's spent so much time with after the war was screaming her head off.

Toph sat down with an apple. She purposely took huge bites, chewed with her mouth open and made loud sounds as she repeatedly bit down. Finally he couldn't take it anymore. "Look," Zuko said sharply.

"I can't," she replied bitterly.

He rolled his eyes. "That's not what I mean. Look, I'm sorry okay? I didn't mean to yell at you last night."

"So what, you think I'm some fragile little girl that doesn't like to be yelled at?" she retorted.

_Why can't she ever just take a damn apology for what it is? _"No," Zuko said through gritted teeth. He tried to calm himself down, his anger was bubbling again. "I… just…"

"What?" she asked.

Somehow telling her he cared about her became difficult and he stumbled with his words. "I just hope it doesn't happen again," he said. _Damn it, _Zuko thought. That was the last thing he wanted to say.

"It won't," Toph stated sternly. She stood up and walked out of the royal kitchen, purposely throwing her apple core at his head. Zuko didn't yell at her for it, he thought he deserved it.

**~X~X~X~**

Things had seemingly gone back to normal over the course of two weeks. Zuko and Toph were back to normal but were both seemingly wary of the other in the nighttime. After she would go to bed if he had the time he would sneak outside her door and listen for any signs of discomfort. Secretly of course, she would have a fit if she knew. Everything was silent the nights he sat outside her room. No screaming. No worries.

And then one night came along. It was the first night of fall. Zuko was no longer staying outside her bedroom door, since it had been nearly three months he went to his own room. The two were strolling palace gardens and laughing joyfully as it turned 8:00 in the evening. "I can't believe Iroh almost fainted from the tea set you bought him," Toph laughed.

"I know," he chuckled, "I didn't know someone could pass out from happiness. But that wasn't nearly as funny as when Sokka's own son hit him with his bottle."

"I'd give anything to see that," she agreed. "That cake was pretty good. I should have had more. It's not like Iroh is going to turn sixty-two again."

"You had three pieces already," Zuko smirked. "There is such a thing as too much cake."

"Nonsense, Sparky." Toph grinned. She walked off the garden pavement and onto the lush green grass, letting gravity take its course and falling backwards on her back.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? Come on Princess, it's alright if you get grass stains on your royal clothes."

He lay down in the grass beside her. "You make me sound like such a prude," he scoffed. "I still remember the days I was a banished prince and traveling with Uncle." He smiled softly. "Sometimes I miss those days. Sometimes I wish I could just… I don't know… fly away." He mentally scolded himself for how stupid he sounded.

Instead of making fun of him Toph merely smiled. This wasn't a sarcastic one either, this one was genuine. "I've been flying before," she murmured.

"Yeah, on Appa."

"No. Just me, flying through the clouds."

He wasn't sure if she knew how silly she sounded. "How?" he asked.

"In my dreams," she answered softly. "Right now I see nothing. I see blackness. But when I dreamed, I'd see color, brilliant unimaginable color, with trees, flowers, everything. It's amazing. I never thought in my life I'd ever see something like that. And I'm right, I don't _see _anything… I _dream _it."

Zuko was captivated by Toph's words. "That's wonderful," he murmured.

A few moments of silence passed. "I'm too tired to go to bed. I just want to sleep here," she said.

He smirked. "Then go to sleep."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'll stay right here." Bravely, the Firelord brushed his arm against her. He expected her to move it away, make a snide comment, or take his arm away from hers. But instead, she let his arms stay flush against her bare one as she fell out of consciousness and into sleep.

The minute it turned midnight he heard a small gasp and was awoken. Zuko sat up and looked around for anyone to be there but no one was present. More gasps followed with terrified 'no!' sounds at the end. He turned to his side and saw Toph on her side, hands gripping the green grass beneath her, clearly having a nightmare. "Not again," he sighed.

He laid down next to her, his strong arms pulling her into his embrace so her trembling lips were tickling his collar bone. Instead of being angry like last time, Zuko calmly whispered into her hair, "It's okay Toph, I'm with you, I'm here."

She continued to struggle and wiggle against him but he held her with the iron grip he was born with. "Toph," he continued to murmur. "You're not alone, you're with me."

"No!" she suddenly cried. Her body twitched. He brought his large hands on her cheeks and lifted her forehead against his. Their foreheads and tips of noses touched.

"Wake up Toph. You're with me. You'll always be with me," he murmured. Zuko took one quick kiss on Toph's lips.

And then his amber orbs met her jade ones. "Zuko?" she whispered.

"Hush," he replied, stealing another quick kiss. "It was only a nightmare." He kept his arms around her waist, locking them so she couldn't escape. "You can sleep, I'm here."

Toph was still half asleep, not fully aware what was going on, but she knew she was in a warm embrace. She felt safe. She closed her eyes yet again.

**~X~X~X~**

She found herself on the run once again, through a burning forest, dead bodies all around, and a faceless man coming after her with a sword. She was desperate. She couldn't earth bend. She was outrun. The faceless man swung at her and she barely avoided his blade. "You're dead," he grinned.

"Bring it bitch!" she bit back, even though she knew full well he could kill her. She avoided another swing and took off running yet again.

_It's okay Toph, I'm with you, I'm here_

"Zuko?" she asked herself. Toph cried out when the man cut her arm, fresh blood spilling out of her. "Damn you," she muttered, gripping her arm with her other hand.

_You're not alone, you're with me _

There was his voice again.

_Wake up Toph. You're with me. You'll always be with me _

Suddenly Toph looked at the faceless man in front of her. "That's enough," she spoke harshly. "I've had enough of this shit. "I'm not afraid of you! I'm not afraid of anything! This is enough! This is enough!" she screamed. As he swung his sword at her she grabbed it, her hand bleeding from grabbing the blade, but she didn't care. She grabbed the sword and turned it back so it stabbed her attacker instead.

And so ended Toph Bei Fong's nightmares. And as she fell asleep again in the Firelord's arms, she had the first dream she ever had in a long while. In this dream she saw a young man with long shaggy hair, golden amber eyes, lean built, and a scare on the right side of his face… with a small mischievous flying lemur perched on his shoulder.

**Author's Note:**

**That was the longest one-shot I had ever done. Well what do you guys think? This is my first Avatar one-shot. Sorry if Toph seems OOC I'd love an honest review on how I did, if there's anything I need to improve on, if it was good, bad, feedback basically. Thank you for reading and please review!**

**~Luna **


End file.
